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The Rio das Mortes (Brazil) 


MINERAL CONCESSION. 







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TH E 



MINERAL CONCESSION. 


TOPOGRAPHY OF DISTRICT, AURIFEROUS DEPOSITS, 
TERMS OF CONCESSION, ETC. 



L 

Chas., Paul MacKip: 



NEW YORK 

Chas. F. Ketcham & Co., Stationers and Printers 

27 AND 29 NASSAU STREET 

1887 














Copyright secured by Chas. Pait. MacKie, 1887. 



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1 


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The Rio das Modes (Brazil) Mineral Concession. 


'I'he Cjovernment of Brazil, by Imperial Decree No. 8,449, of March 
nth, 1882, extended by No. 9,747 of April 22d, 1887, granted to John 
Wetson and Charles Paul MacKie the exclusive right to locate at pleas¬ 
ure 100 mineral claims (da^as) of 169A acres each, within the limits of 
the Comarca. or Judicial District of Rio das Mortes, in the Province 
of Minas Geraes, Brazil, and to work such claims for gold and all 
other minerals during a period of 50 years, upon the terms and condi¬ 
tions hereinafter specified. 


DISTRICT COVERED BY CONCESSION. 

The District of Rio das Mbrtes is about 70 miles long by 60 wide, 
thus embracing an area of approximately 4,200 square miles. It lies 
in the southeastern part of the Province of Minas Geraes, the City of 
Sao Joao d’El-Rey, which is the capital of the District, being distant 
464 kilometers or 290 miles by railroad from Rio de Janeiro. It forms 
part of the great Central Plateau of Brazil, the general character of 
the District being that of a rolling upland, preserving an average level 
of about 3,000 feet above the sea, falling to 2,000 in some of the wider 
valleys, and rising to 5.000 where the local ranges of mountains have 
been upheaved. 

d'he Serra de Mantiqueira, which is the dorsal range of Eastern 
Brazil, discharges the rainfall of its western slopes into two great 
basins; that of the River Sao Francisco to the north, and that of the 
Rio Grande and Parana in the south. The dividing chain between 
these two basins in the eastern Province of Minas Geraes is the Serra 
das Vertentes, which runs westward from the Mantiqueira, and it is in 
the angle formed by these two ‘‘ divides ’’ that the Comarca of Rio das 
Mortes is situated. 

'Phe northern half of the District is watered by the river from which 
it takes its name, and its tributaries, the Carandaley, Elvas, Agua 
Limpa, Sao Joao, Rio das Mortes, Pequeno and Peixe; while the 
southern portion is drained by the Rio Grande and the lesser streams 
falling into it. At the western extremity of the concession these 'two 
rivers unite, and, maintaining the latter name, form the principal affiu- 
ent of the Parana River. 

Besides the two chief mountain ranges already named, the general 
level of the country is pierced by various lesser chains of local extent, 
and of bold and rugged outline. These Serras, such as the Lenheiro at 
Sao Joao, the Sao Jose, near the city of the same name, the Golga, the 
Dons Irmaos and others are entirely destitute of vegetation. They 
are not continuous with one another, but have a general similarity of 




4 




composition, and, as will be seen hereafter, probably have influenced 
to a considerable degree the formation and distribution of the gold- 
bearing deposits in their neighborhood. 

The West of Minas Railway (narrow gauge) enters the concession 
on its eastern boundary, and accompanying the course of the Rio das 
Mortes, traverses the District throughout its greatest breadth, and 
extends to the town of Ibiturum, on its western border, thus furnish¬ 
ing by its junction with the Imperial Dom Pedro Segundo Railway 
(broad gauge) at Sitia, direct railway connection with tide-water at 
Rio de Janeiro. The local road named has only been completed this 
year (1887). 

Additional transportation is supplied by small steamers which have 
lately been put on the Rio das Mortes to ply along the quiet stretches 
of the river between the rapids which prevent its free navigation. 

The country is fairly provided with cart-roads on which a consid¬ 
erable traffic is done by trains of clumsy, primitive wooden-wheeled 
bullock carts, drawn by anywhere from 5 to 15 yoke of oxen. So long 
as these roads keep on the higher levels, where the surface is com¬ 
posed of quartz gravel or - nhelh ^ they are good in all weathers, but 
where they descend among the clays of the valleys and ravines, their 
condition in wet weather is anything but satisfactory. 

I'he District comprises the two townships of Sao Joao d’El 
Rey, and Sao Jose d’El Rey, each so named after its respec¬ 
tive capital, and these in turn embrace some sixteen “ parishes,’’ 
each with one or more small villages. The total population 
of the District is about 40,00c or 45,000, of which some 
8,000 reside in Sao Joao d’ Ed Rey, and about 3,000 in Sao 
Jose. The former city, which is one of the most important distribut¬ 
ing points of the Province, is substantially built on both banks of a 
small river, at the base of the Lenheiro Range, and boasts of paved 
streets and many handsome structures of stone, among which are ii 
churches, two bridges of three arched spans each, an aqueduct, also on 
arches, and various charitable and public buildings. Although some 
small manufacturing is done in the two cities of Sao Joao and Sao 
Jose, the chief occupations of the inhabitants of the District are agri¬ 
culture, grazing and the transportation of goods and produce between 
the interior and points on the railway. The more indolent class gain a 
desultory living by panning out gold from the ravines and gulches 
with which the country abounds, the fertility of the soil and amenity 
of the climate not demanding very great effort to maintain an exist¬ 
ence. 

There is a large number of small plantations scattered throughout 
the District, but the great bulk of the population consists of free 
whites, there not being at present more than 4,000 slaves, where ten 
years ago there were ir,ooo. The people, although not possessed of 
much energy, are honest, hospitable and well disposed towards strang¬ 
ers so long as the latter proceed with becoming consideration. The 
local labor market is well supplied at from 40 cents to 90 cents per day, 
but the workmen cannot usually be depended upon for any operations 
requiring either diligence or skill. The railways throughout this whole 
portion of Brazil have been constructed by Italian and Portuguese 
laborers, who can be obtained in any numbers for $i per day. 



5 


Owing to the height above sea-level, and the regularity of the pre¬ 
vailing winds, the climate is both agreeable and wholesome. In sum¬ 
mer the heat is never excessive, the nights always being pleasant, and 
in winter the cold is rarely suthcient, even at night, to form skim ice. 
During the hot, or so-called fever season, many residents of Rio de 
Janeiro and the Coast seek Sao Joao d’El-Rey and its neighborhood 
to escape the heat and epidemics of the lower country. 

The District is not, as a rule, well wooded. Where the Serras rise 
above the general surface, they are abrupt, bare and rugged, and the 
rounded ridges which form this surface rarely support any heavier vege¬ 
tation than the coarse grass of the region, with now and then a growth 
of bushes. On the bottoms of the ravines and along the larger water¬ 
courses considerable belts of hard timber are usually found, and where 
the valleys broaden toward the north and west of the concession large 
tracts of available woodlands have been made accessible by the pro¬ 
longation of the railway. 

The country is abundantly watered, as a glance at the maps of the 
various sections will indicate. Near the sources of the several 
feeders to the Rio das Mortes and Rio Crande, where the general 
level is highest, the most immediately available supplies of water are 
often lower than the metalliferous gravels and ledges; but the cases are 
rare where water at sufficient elevation and in sufficient quantity cannot 
be found within easy distance for ditches or pipes. The volume of 
many of the small streams is greatly reduced in the height of the dry 
season. During the rainy season, from October to April, there is a great 
abundance of water, and this continues in diminishing quantities until 
July, when the streams reach their-lowest stages, although they at no 
time fail to carry a certain supply. 

✓ 


GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 

The several local ranges of mountains which rise abruptly above the 
general level of the District are huge masses of metamerphic rocks, 
talcose and micaceous slates, iron conglomerates and the ferrugenous 
composites known as itabirites, jacutinga and canga. Their flanks are 
usually formed of highly-inclined clay, slates, sandstones, greenstones 
and limestones, all traversed to a greater or less extent by mineral 
lodes, and bearing evidence in their greatly contorted state of the 
violent convulsions with which their upheaval was effected. 

Where these chains of mountains fall off into the rounded hills and 
ridges which form the general surface, the prevailing country rocks are« 
decomposed clay-slates, and at lower levels, the immense beds of 
highly disintegrated gneiss which form so marked a feature in Brazilian 
geology. Where these hills have, in turn, been cut through by streams, 
at still lower levels serpentine, kaolin and marl are encountered, with 
occasional strata of tough blue clay. The more important and massive 
of the quartz lodes carry straight through the bulk of the hills, their 
outcrops being visible on the summits in some cases for many miles. 

'Bhe highly decomposed nature of the rocks mentioned, and the 
depth to which the decomposition has extended has led to the erosion 


fi 


not only of wide valleys where the more considerable rivers flow, but 
to the excavation of innumerable ravines and gulches which so cut up 
the country that the snortest road between two given points is often 
found following all the windings of the summits of the ridges. This 
formation, on the other hand, presents a compensation, inasmuch as 
the perpendicular walls of the deep barrancas which have eaten into 
the hillsides, afford complete sections of the stratification of the latter 
to a depth, in places, of 200 or 300 feet. From the same cause an ex¬ 
traordinary amount of the rotten formations has been washed out by 
Nature’s sluices, and enormous quantities of the resultant sands and 
gravels are spread over the bottoms of the valleys and gulches. 

The whole District of Rio das Mortes has, since its earliest settle¬ 
ment, been known to possess abundant deposits of both the useful and 
the precious metals. Its original scanty population was first attracted 
to the valleys of the Rio das Mortes and Rio Grande so long ago as the 
beginning of the last century by the discovery of rich gold-bearing 
gravels, and during the succeeding 80 years large quantities of gold 
continued to be extracted from localities which still show evidences of 
the activity of the old washers. When the increasing scarcity and cost 
of slave labor and the suicidal laws maintained by the Portuguese 
Crown caused the extraction of the metal by the rude processes then 
followed to be abandoned throughout the whole of Brazil, the early 
immigrants into the Rio das Mortes District took up the wild 
lands and settled down to farming and cattle-raising. 'Fhey had never 
touched the quartz veins so plentiful throughout their country, but had 
confined their labors to placer washing at certain favorite spots, the 
small number of laborers in comparison with the wide extent of auri¬ 
ferous territory preventing anything like a thorough working or even 
exploration of the fields. Various political and social causes, coupled 
with prohibitive legislation, have continued ever since to prevent a 
revival of the mining industry, and, with the exception of the opening 
of one quartz mine nearly 60 years ago by an English association, 
nothing has been done towards systematically working either the 
placers or lodes of the District since the cessation of operations at the 
l)eginning of the century.* 

Although the reputation of the Rio das Mortes District was thus 
chiefly based upon the extent and character of her auriferous deposits 
of late years various other valuable minerals have been discovered 
under circumstances which justify the belief that their extraction will 
be profitable. 

Iron of various qualities, and in bodies of great extent is found 
throughout the concession. In the limestone formation 2 leagues 
from Sao Joao galena occurs, the outcroppings of which have yet to be 
carefully explored. At a distance of a league from the village of 
Mattozinhos, and also on the northern slopes of the Lenheiro Range 
beds of Rock Crystal are exposed, and in the same localities mica and 
a.sbestos are found. Near the village of Ibitieruna, on the western 
border of the District near the line of the railway a seam of Bitumin- 

*For an examination of the causes, economical, political and legislative, which led 
to the suspension of gold-washing throughout Brazil at the period referred to. and 
have hindered its revival since, see the writer’s pamphlet on “The Gold Fields of 
Brazil; Their History,” etc. 



7 


-ous Coal has been discovered which deserves investigation in a region 
where Welsh Coals are imported ixt a cost of $20.00 per ton. Bismuth 
occurs near the city of Sao Jose; Platinum has been washed out of the 
streams near Cajaru, and specimens of Silver Ore have been brought 
from the Dons Irmaos Range in the south-western section of the con¬ 
cession. Several Brazillian scientists also assert that some of the con- 
glomorates near Sao Joao are diamond-bearing. 

All of these localities deserve attention, as in fact do all the ranges 
of mountains within the concession whose highly metalliferous nature 
is apparent even to superficial observation. But until a more thorough 
examination shall have demonstrated the value, or the reverse, of the 
other mineral deposits, the present interest must centre upon the Gold- 
bearing gravels and lodes of the District, the importance of which is 
known not only from the large amounts of Gold extracted from some 
of the former in early days, but also from a series of careful observa¬ 
tions made of late years, since the construction of the railway was 
decided upon. 


PLACER DEPOSITS. 

The examinations made of these deposits have been so far confined 
to the surface gravels and beds of streams. No soundings have been 
made to verify the existence of older channels, although for reasons 
which will be given, it ajjjDears probable that such do exist. 

In discussing the placers of this District constant reference will be 
made to the maps and reports of the Rio das Mortes region prepared 
for the writer in 1881, from personal examinations, by James W. Wells, 
Pvsq., M. Inst. C. E., F. R. G. S., etc., a gentleman well known for his 
professional and literary works in connection with Brazil. 

The gold-bearing gravels are of three kinds, found in as many 
distinct positions, viz : (I) the overlying sheet of gravel which covers 
the surface of a large part of the District; (II) the underlying gravels 
more usually found on the slopes and bottoms' of the valleys and river 
basins ; (HI) the gravels of the river and stream beds. 

(I.) The cascal/io, or sheet of com])act fragments of reddish quartz 
and sand loosely united by ferric oxides, which covers the summits 
and slopes of the rounded hills to a depth of from i foot to 6 or 8 feet, 
d'his gravel, which usually lies exposed to the open air is noticeable 
for the uniformity with which it covers wide tracts of country, and from 
the fact that its fragments are angular and rarely if ever waterworn. 
d'his formation which is often met with throughout the Province of 
Minas Geraes, has given rise to many conjectures as to its origin ; but . 
as yet no theory has been advanced which will answer all the circum¬ 
stances. The |fact remains that it is generally highly auriferous, of 
immense extent, and was the chief source of the large quantities of 
gold extracted by the slave bands of the old washers in the last century. 

At many spots throughout the concession the remains of these old 
washings are found, and owing to the conservative nature of the climate 
and (juality of the soil, they still afford valuable hints and data. These 
washings were usually undertaken on the lower slopes of a hill adjoin¬ 
ing a stream, and consisted in stripping the surface gravel down to the 



8 


face of the rock, and either washing it out in situ by water brought l)y 
ditches to a convenient point above or carrying it in baskets down to 
the stream and there panning it out. 

Mr. Wells thus describes one of the most important of these washings 
which lies at the i)oint where the two creeks, Estiva and Barba do 
Lobo, join the Rio das Mortes Bequeno, about 15 miles from the city 
of Sao Joao d’ El Rey : 

“I'he river side liere forms a plain of about 350,000 square metres, 
d'his area has been very largely worked to a depth of one to two metres. 
At a distance it has the appearance of a plowed field, caused by re¬ 
mains of the water courses (in plan resembling a series of gridirons) 
locally termed canoas. The ground consisted apparently of a bed of 
more or less decomposed quartz and gravel. This has been washed 
but not crushed, ddiere are still many thick veins of quartz cropping 
out on the surface, which in some places have been left standing out 
like dikes. The extensive piles left of the quartz, friable with little 
packets of crystals, seamed and tinted with various foreign substances, 
look very sugge.stive of containing more gold within the stones than 
may have been found around them. All these old mining operations 
were done without the aid of mercury; consequently all the very fine 
gold was lost. * * * Judging by the extent of the workings, a large 
amount of gold must have been extracted. In the old times the miners 
had the great advantage of exceedingly cheap and plentiful labor; but 
the present age has in its favor the advantage of cheap and easy trans- 
l^ort from Rio de Janeiro, the employment of mercury, and the ex¬ 
perience and science of the day.” 

It is, of course, impossible to determine what was considered paying 
ground by the old miners. Mr. Wells found that this particular sheet 
of gravel, which extended along both banks of Estiva Creek for sev¬ 
eral miles, panned out from 31c. to $1.54 per cubic yard. 

d'he limited extent to which, even in the most extensively worked 
placers, it was possible for the old washers to work with the rude 
methods at their disposal is shown by ascending towards the head of this 
same creek. Mr. Wells continues: “ In the cliffs or bluffs of hills by 
side of river, the clay and marl formation is met with. Here it has also 
been worked in former times. I'he surface of the hill is composed of 
gravel, most probably auriferous and too high above the stream for 
working with the head of water that the miners may have had at their 
disposal. All the workings in this neighborhood were but a few metres 
above adjoining streams, and what could be washed by means of open 
channels of running water, necessitating but a small head. Erom here 
to Eazenda da Estiva de Cima most of the hills on the route are 
veined with quartz, and contain even on their ridges beds of gravel. 
Cold is still worked in many places in the neighborhood by the 
peasanrty with pans in the intervals of the crop seasons. As a rule 
they only wash about four hours a day, at washing with the pan.” 

It is entirely possible that the innumerable veins of (juartz which 
traverse the rotten countrv rock in which these sheets of cascalho lie 
may have furnished, through the gradual process of disintegration, the 
(juartz fragments of which it is chiefly composed. Wherever the sheets 
are thinnest, and especially on the summits of the ridges, the outcrops 
of these veins are to be found, often of notable width, and in many 
cases known to be auriferous. 


9 


The gold found in this superficial gravel is, like the quartz frag¬ 
ment, coarse, heavy and not much rounded. It is distributed through 
the mass, on the summits as well as on the slopes of the hills; although 
at the foot of the latter, and where the faces of opposite hills meet to 
form the floor of a gulch or small valley, the accumulation of the metal 
is naturally greater. 

T]ius, in crossing a hill about two miles from the City of Sao Joao, 
on the road leading over the Lenheiro Range, Mr. Wells panned out 
$1.^8 per yard from the sand on the surface of the road; the result, no 
doubt, of the percolation of rain-water through the auriferous gravel of 
the hillside. 

At another point on the roadside, near the site of Boa Vista, where 
the travel had worn through this upper sheet of cascal/io, and exposed 
it in sections, Mr. Wells again tested it and found it to yield at the rate 
of $2.95 per yard. The gravel here was from 6 to 7 feet thick, and 
Mr. Wells remarks: 

“ 'I'he gravel in bank is very auriferous, as are also some of 
the strata in underlying formation. It gives gold in coarse 
grains. The gravel can be traced on surface of adjoining hills, 
and down in bed and banks of stream it is equally good, 
though it is very variable even in the same place; a pan will give per¬ 
haps two or three times as much as a succeeding one. This gravel 
extends to the village of Rio das Mortes,”—a distance of three miles. 

d'ests made near Gulch No. 4, in the Cajuru section, 20 miles from 
the last-mentioned locality, where the gravel capping at the foot of the 
hill has been overlaid by a modern drift of black, peaty clay, gave hand¬ 
some colors of heavy metal in every pan, the average being at the rate of 
$2.35 and $2.89 per yard. The gravel here is about 4 feet deep, and 
the overlying drift about 6 or 7. 

d'he area of country covered by this exterior sheet of gravel has not 
been determined with any exactness. It has been traced wherever the 
slate formations approach the surface from Santa Rita on the northern 
slopes of Lenheiro Range to Onca, and Cajuru to the south, a distance 
of 20 or 25 miles; and from Invernada on the east across to Conceicao 
da Barra on the west, a distance of 30 miles. It is not encountered 
where the mountain ranges have been upheaved above the general level, 
nor does it cover all of the hills alike, but seems rather to be confined 
to these ridges which are higher than the average elevation. The fact 
that it usually lies immediately upon the soft country rocks, and the 
presence of so many outcrops of quartz lodes lend color to the theory 
mentioned, i. e. that this bed is nothing but the undisturbed debris of 
the disintegration of those rocks. Whatever the cause, the wide disper¬ 
sion of the deposits and their ascertained gold-bearing character would 
appear to be worthy of experiment on a larger scale than has yet been 
attempted. 

From the fact that some of these beds have an elevation greater than 
the average level, it is apparent that the question of the water-supply 
is all important, although the loose character of the gravel would re¬ 
quire no great force to wash it away. On this point, referring to the 
profile prepared by him of the District, Mr. Wells says : “A comparison 
of the sections taken along these various routes with the general plan, 
will furnish sufficient data as to the relative levels and distances of the 


10 


hills, plains and streams referred to, to judge approximately of the 
difficulties or facilities each place presents for the adoption of a system 
of hydraulic mining. * * * j daresay it will be necessary to go to the 
headwaters of the Rio das Elvas and Rio das Mortes Pequeno to find 
a head of water.” These distances would be from 5 to lo miles. 

(II.) The second gravel formation to which reference has been 
made is apparently of totally distinct character and origin from, the 
cascalho mentioned above, although in localities the two formations 
from topographical causes are merged together. 

'Fhis second deposit maintains a lower level than the cascalho^ and 
extends along the sides and bottoms of the valleys and ravines through¬ 
out the greater part of the concession. Sometimes it is also found 
passing unbroken over the summits of the ridges, but more generally 
the gravel beds do not extend beyond the limits of the valleys, thus 
indicating a somewhat recent deposition. The gravel itself is rounded, 
compact and evidently waterworn. It lies beneath a stratum of reddish 
earth, blue clay, or other drift, and has for its bed rock the highly dis¬ 
integrated gneiss, schists and slates already referred to. These rocks 
are much more decomposed than those upon which the surface cascalho 
lies; but they also carry great numbers of veins of quartz which have 
been as much disintegrated as the strata which they traverse, and, al¬ 
though remaining iji sifa, have been reduced to the consistency of soft 
sandstone. 

The gravel is from 2 to 10 or more feet in depth, and the superim¬ 
posed stratum of drift is from 3 to 6 or 8 feet. In some localities this 
upj)er stratum carries fine gold, the whole body of dirt in such cases 
being auriferous from the grass roots down to bed rock. I'he gold in 
these lower gravels is heavy and coarse as in the higher levels, but more 
rounded. 

Mr. Wells examined many localities throughout the region, widely 
separated as to distance, and encountered this deposit in all directions. 
He inclines to the belief that it lies in three distinct principle fields, or 
belts; (I.) in the basin or depression extending from Sao Joao east to 
Sao Jose, and consisting of the flat level valleys of the upper Rio das 
Mortes and its feeders, the Elvas, Agua Limpa, Sao Joao and Caran- 
dahey, which are filled with gravels derived apparently in large part 
from the denudation of the neighboring ranges of Lenheiro and Sao 
Jose and the high uplands to the south of these; (II and III) two well 
defined belts, both running in a general north-east and south-west di¬ 
rection; the upper one lying to the north of the Lenheiro Range, with 
its axis about 15 miles distant from Sao Joao, being about 30 or 35 
miles long, and the lower lying about 12 miles to the south of that city, 
and running with the same general direction across the whole width of 
the concession. 

These fields are all within that portion of the District of Rio das 
Mortes drained by the river of that name. Further examination will 
probably discover a fourth zone still farther to the south, in thiit por¬ 
tion of the concession which is within the basin of the Rio (Irande. 

(I-) The central field formed by the flats and lowlands bordering 
the Rio das Mortes and its tributaries present an aggregate length of 
probably 20 miles, with a breadth varying from 200 yards to a league. 
At many points throughout this district evidences are found of the 


11 


washings undertaken in the past century, in the shallow pits and heaps 
of gravel left by the old workers. Rut for the reasons already referred 
to, these washings are insignificant in comparison with the extent of 
country involved. They serve to show however, that the results justi¬ 
fied the old diggers in undertaking what must have been to them con¬ 
siderable labor. 

No general soundings have been made to determine the depth of 
this widely spread gravel deposit, but where tested they have been 
found to vary from 3 to lo feet deep, covered with a corresponding 
stratum of drift. As the whole of this series is known to be aurifer¬ 
ous, tests were, for convenience, confined to the vicinity of the city of 
Sao Joao. 

Where the gravel shows up in the river bank just below the city, 
prospects taken at hazard at different points yielded at the rate of 
$6.30, ^^2.17 and 66c. per cubic yard, along a length of nearly 1,000 
yards. Mr. Wells, in reporting these tests, says: “ This gravel prob¬ 
ably underlies the whole of the city, forming an old bed of the river, 
deposited by the stream from the denudations of the quartz of the sur¬ 
rounding hills. 

“ It was necessary to obtain permission from the Municipality previ¬ 
ous to making any excavations, as it prohibits most rigorously gold¬ 
washing in the bed of the stream above ” on plan. This prohibition 
is not made through any objection to the taking out of gold, but as a 
means to prevent a possible undermining of the quays of the river and 
of the piers of bridges. * ^ The quays on south side have lately 

been prolonged about 200 metres. The contractor informed me that 
he occasionally employed a man to wash the gravel thrown out of the 
trench of foundations, but that it w^is done very seldom, as he had no 
men or time to spare. He succeeded in obtaining ninety-six milreis 
($48) of gold.” 

Repeated tests made on the banks of the other streams named, by 
Mr. Wells, the writer, and others, have given invariably handsome 
profits; but nodetailed study was made of these locations as their 
auriferous character and close correspondence with the Sao Joao gravels 
were evident at first sight. 

When the negro faiscadores, or unauthorized washers of this region 
were informed that the writer had no intention of interfering with 
their pursuit so long as they did not interfere with his plans, they ad¬ 
mitted that they took out from $5 to $10 per pan each night that they 
worked, which was not often, as they were fearful of being discovered 
extracting the metal. 

All of this central field is abundantly supplied with water, which can 
be obtained at any elevation necessary for washing. 

(II.) Referring to the second or upper belt lying to the north of the 
central field just described Mr. Wells reports as follows : 

“ The fazenda (plantation) de Congo Fino presents many indications 
of being a rich neighborhood. Its name indicates ‘ the mine of fine 
gold.’ In former times there have been some mining operations here, 
but not of great extent. Within a quarter of a mile of the farm there 
is a good formation by side of road, and in front of the farm buildings 
the formation looks exceedingly good. The ground is excellently sit¬ 
uated for hydraulic mining, being close to the Rio das Mortes, and 


12 


plenty of water with a good head could be obtained within a very few 
miles. 

“ The same formation is to be found in the first hill after crossing 
the Rio das Mortes. By the road there are several gulches which could 
be easily tested. I was told that good results have been obtained from 
them. 

“ On the hillside, a little to the left of Conceicao, a similar forma¬ 
tion is to be found again. These formations are all similar in character 
to that at Fazenda de Paciencia, and constitute a line about north¬ 
east and southwest through Paciencia, Congo Fino and Conceicao da 
Barra. 

“ There is another belt, I believe, running almost parallel from Santa 
Rita to Fazenda de Pega Bern, for between Santa Rita and Paciencia, 
and Conceicao and Pega Bern I saw no indications; but in the lines of 
these two belts the ground presented all the characteristics of a gold dis¬ 
trict. 

“ On the side of the hill descending to Fazenda de Pega Bern there 
is an excellent formation, with less of gravel lying upon and intersect- 
, ing the clays. On the hills to the east of Xht faze?tda a very consider¬ 
able area of the surface has been explored by the old miners.” 

Along the course of Prata Creek Mr. Wells found that: “ The banks 
consist of red, yellow and purple shale, with veins of rich-looking 
quartz, covered with beds and intersected by veins of gravel. Banks 
3 metres (lo feet) high and extend 200 metres level to foot of hills. 
This ground has been worked to a small extent.” 

Further along “ There appear stratified decomposed rocks; they are 
yellow clay slate, or micaceous clay, running north 62 degrees east, 
dipping 40 degrees to south. They are covered with about i metre of 
gravel and i to 2 metres of earth. The samples were taken from gravel 
which apparently extends over surface of adjoining hills. * * * in 

the bank on side of road going up first hill after passing Ponte Novo, 
I saw some excellent formation in the neighboring gulches. 1 was 
told that the gold pans out very well. Water could be brought here 
from Santa Rita at comparatively little cost.” 

These beds yielded from 50c. to 88c. per cubic yard. On the slopes 
of some of the hills in this belt the gravel of the lower levels overlaps 
the cascalho of the upper formation and it becomes difficult to preserve 
the distinction between the two. This secondary deposit of gravel does 
not seem to be of as great extent or to carry as much gold as the lower 
or southern belt, although report says that some of the richest 
placers in the concession lie within this upper belt, a little further to 
the east, in the tract lying between the Lenheiro Range and the river. 
Circumstances have hitherto prevented an exploration of this section. 

(III.) The third, or lower belt, which is situated 15 miles to the south 
of Sao Joao d’El-Rey, is thus described by Mr. Wells: “ I find there 
is a vein, or gold belt, extending in a perfectly straight line through 
Cajuru, Wetson’s Gulch, Estiva, Retiro Creek, Onca to llheos (on 
the eastern borders of the concession). All the strata that compose 
the alluvion in which the gold exists run in a direction parallel with 
this line.” 

An examination made of several localities in this belt gave the fol¬ 
lowing data'. 


At the Corrego da Falheta (Nugget Creek) in the Onca section 
the prospecting tests gave from 89c. to $1.47 per cubic yard. Mr. 
Wells reports: “The valley of this stream is covered with a stratum of 
black peat, one and two metres deep, under which is a white marl 
mixed with gravel. Under the gravel which is exceedingly rich are 
yellow pizai'ro [compact decomposed clay slate] veined with undula¬ 
ting sheets of some black metal, beds of steatite, thick veins of quartz 
and gray shale. All this deposit is purely virgin, having never been 
worked.” 

At Olho Creek, in the same neighborhood, the gravel gave $1.10 
per cubic yard. Mr. Wells reports: “The gravel of bed varies very 
much in quality. Some of the pans showed nothing and some pro¬ 
duced a good show; but high up the stream a compact gravel and 
formation is met with similar to the Corrego da Folheta. The gravel 
extends over the valley and up some of the hills.” 

Not far from these two streams is the Retiro Creek. The ravine 
through which it runs is narrow and steep. Mr. Wells found that “the 
stream is littered with large boulders of quartz and soapstone (steatite). 
Thick ledge of steatite crosses the stream diagonally.” The writer 
with the assistance of a companion overturned one of these boulders 
and took $10.00 of small nuggets from two pans of gravel beneath. 
The gold in the gravel of banks was in coarse flat grains. 

In the Cajuru section, 10 miles west of the localities just mentioned, 
the gravel extends up to the top of the hills, along the valley of Curral 
Creek, which is about 1,200 or 1,500 feet wide. Tests made here gave 
70c. per cubic yard for the gravel, and as high as $1.73 for the sandy 
ferruginous earth on the surface overlying the gravel. This valley and 
its surrounding hills are traversed by well defined veins of quartz. 

About a league to the west of this place is a bed of the same gravel 
of wide extent. Mr. Wells reported: “This gravel is very common to 
this stream. It is being constantly washed by the villagers of Cajuru 
and neighborhood. It has been worked for many years, but always by 
the pan and never by any force of labor of any importance. The clay 
formation [bed rock] runs north 72*^ east and dips 60The gravel 
extends up and down stream for several miles.” 

III. The last series of gravels to which w^e have alluded are the 
“wet placers,” or deposits lying within the present high-water marks of 
the streams, large and small, intersecting the concession. Flowing as 
these do through a region traversed by so many veins of auriferous 
quartz, through country rock already highly decomposed, or of a nature 
to yield readily to the action of time and weather, and usually cutting 
their way through one or both of the higher deposits of gravel men¬ 
tioned, it is natural that they should carry more or less metal distributed 
through the gravels of their beds. 

It may be said briefly, that all the streams within the concession are 
gold-bearing. Some are so to an extent known to be profitable; of 
the value of others nothing is as yet known, and still others are known 
not to justify any outlay of labor or money. But there is not a stream 
in the whole District which will fail to show “color.” 

Mr. Wells, in reporting various examinations made in the bed of the 
Sao Joao Creek, along a course of more than two miles, found the 
yield to be, according to location, 44c., 87c. and $1.10 per cubic yard. 


14 


“ The holes were dug,” he reports, “ only about a foot deep in the dry 
shoals; the water prevented deeper excavations. A greater depth 
would probably give better results. 'The gravel is about one to two 
metres deep, under which I am told are beds of soft, yellow decom¬ 
posed rocks. * * * After a flood very large numbers of citizens 

congregate to wash the gravel of bed, and some very large finds 
are reported to have been made, as much as 12 ounce nuggets, I am 
told. ()n dark nights police patrol the quays to prevent the surreptitious 
washing of the prohibited sections of the river.” 

At the ford across this stream below the city the people of the town 
may constantly be seen washing the gravels which have been churned 
over by the heavy wooden wheels of the bullock-carts, and the well- 
known auriferous character of its bed and banks lead Mr. Wells to 
remark as follows: “The gravel deposit of this neighborhood has been, 
and in the banks to a limited extent is still exceedingly rich, and from 
samples taken from the surface of bed of stream through city, I am 
induced to believe that about one metre to two metres deep a very rich 
auriferous deposit may still be found, for the reason that the upper 
surface is constantly being disturbed, and fresh gold deposited with 
every flood. The latter is proved by the fact that the townspeople 
wash the surface of gravel in stream with considerable profit after a 
flood, which, at other times is not so profitable. Naturally my suppo¬ 
sition must be subject to a proper sounding made at least two metres 
deep. I believe the old bed of the Rio das Mortes (a. a.) would offer 
profitable returns to work, for the reasons enunciated in my general 
observations of this place, but my belief is subject to what result may 
be obtained from properly made soundings.” 

At the Rapids of Pombal, about 10 miles down the Rio das Mortes 
from Sao Joao the river is narrowed by impinging spurs of the neigh¬ 
boring ranges, and falls over ledges and boulders in considerable 
rapids. I'his place has always been deemed extremely rich, but the 
necessity of providing a side outlet for the water has prevented any 
serious attempt to secure the metal. In extremely dry seasons a cer¬ 
tain amount of gold is obtained from the bed by means of long-handled 
scoops; and bamboo poles run 8 or 10 feet down, have particles of the 
metal adhering to their ends when withdrawn. 

In an opposite direction, some 20 miles southeast of Pombal, Agua 
Limpa Creek, which runs through the Onca section for 10 miles, has a 
broad, flat valley for the greater part of its course, which yields gold 
freely to the pan. At Callaboca Ford, some 3 miles from its mouth, 
the prospects showed heavy coarse gold on the surface at the rate of 
$1.60 per yard. Nearer its mouth this gravel has been somewhat cov¬ 
ered witli flood-stuff, so that it does not show well on the surface, but 
for all the rest of the course the bed of the stream appears to carry 
gold freely. 

Referring to the mouth of the creek, Mr. Wells says: “The bed 
of the stream consists entirely of gr^ivel. I tried 12 pans; two only 
gave color. But probably deeper down the gravel may be richer. It 
would be advisable ^^to make a cut across one of the shoals about li 
metres (5 ft.) deep and examine it properly. If this gravel gave 
gold it would be very valuable, as it is easy to work and is very ex¬ 
tensive.” 


15 


Later investigations have proved the correctness of Mr. Wells’ judg¬ 
ment. The underlying gravel is certainly auriferous. 

To the west of this section at a distance of 5 or 6 mile.s, the gravels 
in the beds of the Rio das Mortes Pequeno and its feeders all carry 
gold, yielding in the prospects taken at different points 30c., 40c., 70c., 
I1.54 and $2.64 per cubic yard. Mr. Wells reports: “Bed of stream 
very good; large coarse grains.” All of these tests were made from 
the gravel lying on the surface of the beds and therefore nothing can 
be said as to the existence or the contrary, of deeper and richer de¬ 
posits of heavier gold. The occasional finding of nuggets of from ^ an 
ounce to one pound in weight, as well as experience in other fields, 
would argue that they do exist. In the spring of the present year 
(1887), a nugget was found in one of the gulches of the Cajuru section 
which sold for over $200, The writer tried to secure it from the pur¬ 
chaser, but it had been reduced to coin. 

In referring to the gravel (and, in fact, all) deposits of a gold-bearing 
nature, no reference is made to the extreme southern or western sec¬ 
tions of the concession, for the reason that the great extent of the 
District has not permitted as yet a detailed study of the whole territory 
to be made. Rapid reconnoissances which have been made establish 
similarity between the topography and geological structure of the 
southern portion with those already described, the gold-bearing form¬ 
ations extending in that direction as the rich gravels of the Sapucahy 
River demonstrate. The western section is rather more open, with 
broader valleys, a somewhat dilTerent geological structure, and less dis¬ 
tinctly auriferous characteristics. Until these portions of the concession 
have been more carefully examined, it will not be prudent to base any 
calculations upon them. 

'rhe practical question of selecting those gravel deposits offering the 
greatest advantages for working, and the proper methods of attacking 
these, is not within the writer’s province. Mr. Wells recommends, as 
offering the greatest inducements for detailed^survey with a view to 
practical operations, the following localities: “Folheta, Retiro, Olho 
and Estiva Creeks in Oncasection; Gulches i, 2, 3 and 4 [Wetson’sJ 
and Cerrego Grande, in Cajuru section; old bed of Rio das Mortes 
below Sao joao, bed of stream at that city and the village of Rio das 
Mortes, and the Morro da P'olheta, [Nugget Hill], all in the Sao Joao 
section; and the Congo Fino plantation, near the bridge of the same 
name crossing the Rio das Mortes.” 'I'o these, more recent investiga¬ 
tions would suggest that there be added Agua Limpa and Curral Creeks, 
the Rapids of Pombal, and the great stretch of alluvial gravel in the 
plain at Mattozinhos. 

All of the places named offer every facility for working on either a 
small or a large scale, without the necessity of undertaking expensive 
preliminary operations. With regard to the many other beds of gravel 
comprised in the concession, both at the lower and higher levels, it 
would probably be requisite to make a more systematic examination. 

'The terms of the concession permitting the location of 100 claims of 
rfipj acres each, or a total of 16,950 acres, at the option of the grantees, 
either separately or in groups, enable the latter to select only such de¬ 
posits as are most .satisfactorily situated, and to embrace entire fields, 
or only such portions of these as may seem most desirable. 


16 


QUARTZ LODES. 

The gold of the Rio das Mortes District occurs free in the veins of 
quartz or quartzite, and combined with other minerals in the shape of 
pyrites, itabirite, jacutinga, canga and other ferruginous ores. Some 
of the latter class of deposits are known to be extensive, and to be 
similar in general character to the lodes which are furnishing the 
largest part of the gold produced at present in the Province of Minas 
Geraes. But owing partly to want of facilities and partly to want of 
familiarity with this type of ores, the examinations made in the District 
have so far been confined to the quartz lodes in which the gold occurs 
free. The former class of mineral remains to be studied by more com¬ 
petent observers, and our present remarks will be confined to the latter 
and more accessible formation. 

The quartz ledges traversing the concession and carrying free gold 
are of two general kinds, dependent for their characteristics upon the 
rocks in which they are found, viz; (I.) Those whose outcrops show up 
so constantly through the decomposed country rocks, and which are 
exposed in section at the heads of the barrancas^ or gulches; and (II.) 
Those ledges which outcrop along the Lenheiro and Sao Jose Ranges, 
some of which have been exposed in section by the recent quarrying 
done near the city of Sao Joao d’ El Rey. 

No attempt has been made to locate or define the limits of these 
lodes as the great length of some of those observed, and the extreme 
frequency with which they are encountered would require more time 
and a better organization than the writer has had at his disposal. 

(I.) In referring to the gravel deposits, frequent mention has been 
made of the outcroppings of quartz ledges so numerous throughout 
the District, and which are assumed to be the sources from which the 
gold found in the gravels has been derived. Mr. Wells, after comment¬ 
ing upon their constant recurrence in the Cajuru section, remarks: 
“I mention these outcrops of quartz in the various places noticed, 
because I have every reason to believe that when they present a certain 
character (such as those previously mentioned contain), granular and 
friable from decomposition, with little cavities of crystals, veined red 
with oxide of iron, with thin black films of peroxide of iron, and found 
in this gold region, they are more or less auriferous and worthy of 
examination. 

The croppings vary from a few inches to lo feet in width, and, where 
lying in parallel series, the whole body of the ledge will at times be many 
yards in breadth. The most noticeable feature connected with them 
is their persistency; from the highest outcrop of a given ledge the line 
can be clearly followed across the hills for miles. One especially broad 
and exposed ledge in the Cajuru section shows up on the slopes of 
successive ridges, through the thin sheet of gravel like a cart-road. 
Even on the surface of the outcrop the quartz is not invariably decom¬ 
posed. This is its general character, but ledges of hard, vitreous and 
milky quartz will be found as well as the softer and more “ sugary 
varieties. 

In so wide a field, and with so many ledges showing up, it is natural 
that the greatest diversity should exist in the quality of the ores. The 
lowest assay made of outcroppings gave but 12 grs., or 42c. to the ton 
(Johnson & Sons, London), while the highest yielded 141.70 oz., or 


17 


$2,834-00 per ton (E. Balbach & Son, Newark, N. J.) I'he majority 
of the lodes appear to be of fair average grade, dependent for their 
value more upon ease of access and economy of extraction than upon 
high iissay per ton. 

The barrancas^ or deep precipitous gulches, which the action of the 
torrential rains has in so many places cut into the decomposed strata of 
the hillsides, afford excellent opportunities for studying these quartz 
veins in section, sometimes to a depth of loo feet or more. After very 
heavy rains the face of the barranca, undermined by the infiltration 
of the water from the surface through the loose formation, will occa¬ 
sionally fall outward, thus displaying as completely the geological 
structure of the body of the hill as though it had been carefully pre¬ 
pared for examination. 

Of one of the most characteristic of these gulches, whose vertical 
height from its floor to the grass of the hill surface is 32 metres, or 105 
feet, Mr. Wells reports as follows: “Gulch No. 4 (Wetson’s). This 
gulch, about 180 metres long by 75 wide, has the reputation of being 
exceedingly rich. It was worked some 50 years ago, and common re¬ 
port says that a large amount of gold was taken out. * * It has 

lately been opened out and enlarged through the prospecting opera¬ 
tions of Mr. Wetson. It is to be regretted that his labors have not 
been conducted in a more practical and systematic manner.* 

“ The three sections of the gulch will give an idea of its general 
composition. The sides and ends are composed of clays, marls, de¬ 
composed rocks, intersected by highly decomposed quartz veins. Cov¬ 
ering this formation, and more or less parallel to the slopes of the 
hills are layers of red and yellow earth and gravel. The gravel ap¬ 
pears to be a continuation of (E). The gravel in the two places is 
similar in character, but varies in color from nature of adjoining ma¬ 
terial. It is also very variable in richness, sometimes two pansful 
taken from the same place giving greatly different results. Deep down 
in the gulch auriferous beds of gravel are to be met with, but are more 
of the nature of veins or pockets of detached particles of quartz; they 
are irregular in form, whereas the gravel covering the formation of clays, 
etc., is more or less rounded. At the further end of gulch, on east side 
of water channel, there is a vein two feet thick of exceedingly rich¬ 
looking friable quartz that crumbles into sand in the hand. A small 
portion washed gave good results. ^ ^ ^ 'Phe variety of materials 

that are exposed to view in this gulch is innumerable; at the further 
end, within a space of one foot wide, I counted no less than 18 sym¬ 
metrically parallel bands of different colored earths, marls and clays, 
white, grey, deep red, light red. cream, purple, black, blue-gray, etc. 
This is not auriferous. It would take a long time to enumerate and 
describe the various substances that are exposed to view in the face 
and sides of this gulch. The whole formation is intersected with 
veins in various directions of auriferous quartz, and runs north 72 degrees 

*It is only justice to Mr. Wetson’s energy and perseverance to state that before he 
became associated with the writer he had passed several years in travelling over the 
territory afterward embraced in the concession, and at the spot mentioned by Mr. 
Wells had erected some very ingenious and costly machinery, constructed in London 
from his own plans, and transported over the mountains by bullocks at great expense, 
the railway not being in existence at the time. 


18 


east, and dips 6o degrees south. All the gulches in this hill and oppo¬ 
site hill present similar characteristics.” 

'rhe veins of quartz, extending at intervals along the whole face of 
this gulch, vary from 4 inches to 20 inches at the grass roots and widen 
as they strike down and disappear below its floor. The quartz is so 
soft as to be easily broken out with the hoe,—the one implement 
known to the natives. Pansful of the fragments thus obtained without 
any attempt at crushing, washed in the stream running through the gulch, 
showed good colors of coarse gold at the rate of $4.50 per ton of ma¬ 
terial washed, §ths of which were heavy pieces which of course did not 
yield their metal. Had it been crushed and the fine gold secured by 
mercury, it would have yielded over $20.00 per ton. A shaft sunk 
through the floor of the gulch reached the beta or main lode at a depth 
of 7 feet, which adding the depth of the gulch would make it 112 feet 
from surface of hill. The rock taken from the shaft and “badly 
pounded for want of a hammer” gave 40c. of fine gold to the pan of 
crushed material, or at the rate of $24.00 per ton. Another fragment 
roughly crushed, yielded 75c. of dust in the pan, or at the rate of 
$45.00 to the ton.* The gold at this depth is rather finer than it is 
nearer the surface, and from the inclination of the veins where visible, 
as well as from local tradition, it seems probable that the mother-vein 
lies close below the level of the floor. This level being very nearly 
that of the neighboring creek, any attempt to go below it encounters 
the drainage from that stream and, in the absence of all means for re¬ 
tiring the water, the prospecting could be carried no further, Mr. 
Wells also is of opinion that the mother-lodes are near at hand, as he 
reports: “I believe that many of the quartz veins found in and inter¬ 
secting the clay and marl formation of this neighborhood penetrate to 
a lower formation as in (julches i and 4 and Corrego da Folheta, and 
that if they were traced down they would prove profitable quartz 
mines.” 

This formation is general throughout the section of country under 
discussion. At Ciulch No. i, three miles west of the one above de¬ 
scribed, Mr. Wells says: “The description of the formation of No. 4 
(Wetson’s) Gulch is applicable to this one. dTe run of the strata and 
the dip are similar. I'his Gulch is a favorable place with the local 
gold washers; they come after the rains and wash the clay and gravels 
washed down by the rain. The formation made a fair show in the pan, 
but the gravel is a little better.” 

No. 2 Gulch, two miles and a half still farther west, “has the same 
formation as last, but more thickly veined with quartz, highly decom¬ 
posed, impregnated with oxide and peroxide of iron, crystals, etc. 
'Fhis Gulch is reported to be the richest in the neighborhood. 1 k)und 
the quartz veins were rich even only by washing, and the greater part 
of the formation showed well, altho’ one or two pans gave nothing.” 

The peculiar character of these (iulches, eating, as they have done, 
slowly into the body of the hill from the valley at its foot, afford every 


*In the absence of proper appliances the tests made were necessarily incomplete: 
the error being, however, on the side of moderation. “No allowance whatever is 
made for the loss of all the very fine gold by washing, or for loss in handling such 
small quantities of gold,” is Mr. Wells statement. 



10 


facility for extracting the ore from the open face of the exposed veins, 
and at a depth of loo feet or more below the surface. Their proximi¬ 
ty to streams of water in many places would furnish the supply neces¬ 
sary for crushing the soft rock, and the amount and quality of quartz 
exposed above the level makes it probable that profit will be found in 
sinking shafts to explore the lower lode as well as driving directly into 
the veins at the level. 

M'he extremely soft and friable quality of much of the ore, coupled 
with the existence usually of a bed of gold-bearing gravel of greater 
or less thickness overlying the formation near the surface, has led to 
the proposal that the head and sides of these Gulches be attacked by 
hydraulicking and the whole mass passed through the sluices; but it is 
probable that in the majority of cases more metal can be obtained by 
crushing only the vein-stuff and leaving untouched the mass of poorer 
clays, kaolin and other results of decomposition. Doubtless a certain 
amount of metal is distributed through the whole mass, but it is an 
open question whether it will pay to handle. 

Although the quartz ledges and exposed veins treated of above are 
all within the Cajuru section, identically the same formation is found 
throughout the concession, the quartz being auriferous in nearly every 
instance. 

It yet remains to be determined by competent authority where prac¬ 
tical operations can be most satisfactorily undertaken. 

II. No attempt has been made to trace a connection between the 
quartz ledges above mentioned as traversing the decomposed forma¬ 
tions of the lower levels and those which outcrop through the unde¬ 
composed slates of the foot-hills and the unaltered rocks of the body 
of the Lenheiro, Sao Jose and other ranges of mountains in the Dis¬ 
trict. It is, nevertheless, probable that they are all to be referred to 
the same origin, although at later epochs they have been subjected to 
various modifications. 

Any one of these ranges will serve as a type for all, and the Len¬ 
heiro have been chosen for examination and report both on account of 
their convenient situation to the city of Sao Joao d’El-Rey, and be¬ 
cause the blasting and quarrying which have been effected near the 
city have made several open cuts into the body of one of the spurs of 
the range, and exposed vertical sections of the strata in as in the 
case of the barrancas of the decomposed formations. 

d'his range, at the foot of which lies the city of Sao Joao, is about 
8 miles long and from i to miles wide, and appears to be a detached 
spur of the Serra das Vertentes, with which it is linked by another 
semi-isolated range, that of Sao Jose, a few miles to the east. Its rug¬ 
ged and contorted outlines have already been referred to. Ever since 
the settlement of the city of Sao Joao it has been known that the 
(juartz ledges with which the mountains are seamed are gold-bearing, 
but no serious attempt was made to extract ore until 1830, when an 
Pbiglish company which had obtained authority to work a small piece 
of ground just north of the city, drove a gallery at adit level into a large 
lode back of the Carmo church, and sunk a shaft said to have been 
over TOO feet deep. A large amount of ore was taken out, some of 
which when carrying 4 ^ gold was crushed on the spot by water¬ 
power, while the rest was sent by carts three miles down stream to 


20 


near Mattozinhos, and there crushed. After five years of work the 
company finding the ore did not justify the then enormous expense of 
operating, removed to Novro Velho, some eighty miles to the north¬ 
east, still retaining the name of the “ Sao Joao d’El-Rey Mining Co., 
which they hold to the present day. Captain Burton, the eminent 
English travetler, who visited Sao Joao in 1865, and who calls the 
abandoned mine “the true El Dorado of El Dorado, the focus of the 
auriferous foci,” was informed that part of the ore extracted was jacu- 
tingo, or micaceous iron ore, in which the free gold occurred “ in lines 
and potholes,” and also that the pyritiferous ores were extracted, and 
after being smelted and amalgamated, were sent to London for assay. 
I'he writer has not found any trace of these scientific processes hav¬ 
ing been employed, and men still living, who worked for the company 
fifty years ago, insist that no amalgamating was done, and that only 
selected quartz, in which free gold was visible, was crushed. Whatever 
the process employed, it is certain a large amount of broken but 
not pulverized ore is still lying on the floor of the open cut where the 
old operations were conducted. 

Mr. Wells, who visited this mine in 1881, says : “ 1 examined the 
site of the old English mine of S. Joao d’El-Rei, abandoned about 
40 years ago.* I found a gulch about 600 metres (2,000 feet long), 
surrounded on three sides by perpendicular walls of soft, friable, de¬ 
composed rocks, intersected by veins of friable and of solid white 
quartz. These veins have been picked out by the primitive miners, 
leaving innumerable deep clefts and chasms. The company sank a 
deep shaft in the floor of the gulch. The ore was transported from 
here in bullock carts to the Riberao de Agua Limpa, and there crush¬ 
ed. In those times the transport of mining materials was a very diffi¬ 
cult and expensive undertaking, the carriage of heavy goods taking- 
three to four months ; what can now be done if necessary in one 
day. The works of this mine run north 52 degrees east and dip per¬ 
pendicular; quartz veins run north and north 52 degrees east.’’ 

Such of the company’s miners as are still alive concur in this view, 
viz: that the excessive cost of operation under the circumstances then 
existing led to the rejection of all but the richest ore, and that the pro¬ 
portion of this was not sufficient to compensate for the great outlay. 
The lode offered them at Morro Velho promising greater average re¬ 
turns,the company emigrated, bag and baggage, to that locality, where 
they have ever since remained and been highly successful, although 
the quality of their ore has fallen to about that of the mine which they 
deserted half a century ago. For many years this company divided 
50^ per annum on its capital. 

The huge open cut with its vertical walls made in the mountain-side 
at Sao Joao soon began to be used as an easy quarrying ground by the 
builders of the city, and especially since the advent of the railway gave 
an impetus to Sao Joao and its neigborhood, blasting operations have 
been conducted on a considerable scale at several points within the 
old workings. As a consequence, the hill has been still more opened 
up, and at present many quartz veins are exposed to view on the face 
of the quarry headings. The floor of the (Adch and adjacent quarries 


*A slip of the pen. It was abandoned in 1835. 




21 


is about 50 feet above the Sao Joao Creek, which flows past their 
mouth, and on the oposite bank of the stream is situated the railway 
station. 

The main body of rock is a sandstone, so soft as to crush readily 
under the heel. W’^hen the charges of powder are exploded in quarry¬ 
ing, this rock will frequently blow entirely away from between two 
veins of quartz, leaving the latter projecting in ribs from the face of 
the cut. Much stone must therefore be blasted away to secure blocks 
fit for building. At the upper end of the cut a huge body of clay- 
slate replaces the sandstone. I'his is equally traversed by veins of 
quartz of a somewhat harder character than those in the sandstone. 
\t one point the clay slates are overlaid by a capping of the conglom¬ 
erate called canga about 15 feet in thickness. 

The veins of quartz are of all thicknesses, sometimes running paral¬ 
lel in bunches and at others being isolated. They grow thicker as 
they approach and disappear beneath the floor of the cuts. Some of 
them are 10 inches, 2 feet and 3 feet in width; the quartz being hard 
and milk-white in color; softer and iron-stained; or friable and pitted 
with cells of decomposed pyrites, according to locality. The gold is 
freely visible in the face of some of the veins and in the fragments 
with which the floor and sides of the cuts are littered. It occurs in 
minute specks, flat spangles, crystals and rounded particles. d'he 
quartz veins are separated from the rock by a thin casing of hardened 
clay, and the walls of the veins are clearly and sharply defined. The 
surface of the quartz next the wall is at times honeycombed, and the 
old miners said that in the richer veins at a greater depth this pitted 
surface was encrusted with the metal. 

Samples taken from the faces of three of the thickest veins standing 
out from the walls of the quarries, about one-third of the distance from 
the floor to the level of the hill above, yielded as follows, to the assays 
of Messrs. Ed. Balbach cS: Son, of Newark, N. J. 

GOLD PER TON. 

Hard milky quartz, taken from middle of vein-face, $42.40 
Softer, iron-stained quartz, with lines of iron, - 29.60 

“Sugary” quartz, with honey-combed surface, taken 

from wall of vein, - _ _ . . - 19.40 

The ores carried i ounce of silver to the ton. 'Fhe capping of ca?iga 
before mentioned also carried a small quantity of gold and silver. 

xMany hundred tons of quartz fragments blasted out%nthe quarrying 
operations strew the floors of the cuts in all sizes up to blocks 3 and 4 
feet long and 2 feet thick. I'he veins extend straight into the body 
of the mountain, and evidently increase in strength as they go down¬ 
wards. Should they prove, as seems likely, to be equally productive 
throughout, a very large amount of ore can be secured at a minimum 
cost for extraction, and either crushed on the spot or loaded on rail¬ 
way cars within a distance of 300 yards. Water with the necessary 
head can be readily procured from the mountains above. 

Quartz ledges similar to tho.se above described are found plentifully 
di.stributed along the foot and slopes of the Lenheiro and Sao Jose 
ranges for their vv'hole lengths, some identical in nature with those 
above described, and others associated with pyrites; the country rock 


also changing in some cases. Assays made in New York of this 
quartz varied from $7.25 to $233.50 per ton. d'he gold is sometimes 
visible on the open face of the outcrop, but more frequently at the 
depth of a yard or two. For this reason the country people, whom it 
is necessary to employ in going over so wide a territory, cannot be re¬ 
lied on in prospecting, as they reject everyting that does not show the 
metal to the naked eye. And for the same reason no information of 
a trustworthy character could be gathered about the lodes of aurifer¬ 
ous ores in which no gold is visible, which are known to exi.st in the 
District. The mineral is condemned as worthless by the native {pro¬ 
spector unless it sparkles with gold. 

The quartz formation, indeed, seems common to the whole District, 
as it is found as well on the northern slopes of Lenheiro as on the 
southern above described; and some phenomenally rich specimens, 
carrying over 100 oz. to the ton, were brought from the vicinity of 
Samambaia, 20 miles or more to the south of Sao Joao. Some attempt 
was made to conceal the location of these last ledges, and the writer 
only obtained the knowledge when it was too late to visit them. 

The prospecting thus far done has at least established the existence 
of many of the quartz ledges, their depth and long continuation, their 
auriferous character, facility of access, and in general their convenient 
situation as regards transportation. But, as in the case of the placer 
deposits, only competent, professional opinion can decide where it is 
best to begin practical operations on the veins already located, as well 
as whether the lodes which have not yet been examined are not the 
richest of all. 

The terms of the concession, it will be observed, do not limit the 
selection of claims to any length or width; a lode may be taken up for 
its whole length and the claim be limited to its width, and this operation 
be repeated at as many widely separated points as may be desired, or 
a whole range of mountains may be embraced in a solid block of 
claims, at the will of the locators. 

This faculty makes it possible to adjust the location of quartz claims 
as advantageously as in the case of placers, thus preventing all risk of 
jealous interference and crowding in the future. 'Fhe ranges of barren 
hills and mountains are usually (lovernment lands and therefore sub¬ 
ject to registration under the concession; and even where held by indi¬ 
viduals, their value is insignihcant, and the right of disappropriation at 
their simple agricultural value, which is conferred by the concession, 
prevents any uii^due exactions or combination on the part of proprie¬ 
tors. The actual price of such lands ranges from a few cents up to $i 
or $1.25 per acre,—the latter for improved farms. 

The maps, profiles and sections of various portions of the District 
prepared by Mr. Wells to accompany his reports, give a very just idea 
of the topography of the country and the relative positions of the 
mountain ranges, rivers and creeks, gulches and ravines, villages and 
farms, and railways and roads. All the localities referred to in the 
preceding pages are carefully laid down, and the scenes of the opera¬ 
tions of the old miners are designated as well. Duplicates of these 
maps were filed with the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Commerce 
and Public Works by the concessionaires on March 10, 1887. 


23 


TERMS OF THE CONCESSION. 

The theory upon which the Government of Brazil has granted min¬ 
ing concessions such as that here referred to is that all minerals belong 
to the State, which can therefore cede the right of extracting them to 
whomever it pleases on whatever terms it chooses to stipulate. Where 
the exercise of this right may interfere with the welfare of any proprie¬ 
tor of the surface of the soil, due compensation must be made for 
damage done by the mining operations of the grantee, who, however, 
has also the right of disappropriating the surface owner for the actual 
value of the ground required excluswe of its minerals. In practice it is 
obvious that the latter is the most convenient course to pursue. 

As no distinct mining code exists as yet in Brazil, each Imperial 
Decree is a law in itself, except where otherwise explicitly declared, 
the ancient system of “Crown Monopolies” and “Privileges” being 
thus closely adhered to. 

The several laws and contracts governing the Rio das Mortes Con¬ 
cession are as follows; 

(I.) By Imperial Decree No. 7,379 of July 12th, 1879, Brazilian 
Government granted to the American citizen, John Wetson, the right 
for two years to prospect for gold and all other minerals within the 
limits of the municipalities of Sao Joao d’ FA Rey and Sao Jose d’ El 
Rey in the Province of Minas Geraes. 

(II.) By contract executed before the Consul General of the United 
States at Rio de Janeiro on September 4th, 1880, Wetson associated 
Charles Paul Mackie with himself in his undertaking. 

(III.) By Imperial Decree No. 8^059 of March 24th, 1881, this pros¬ 
pecting license was extended for 2 years. 

(IV.) By contract made in Rio de Janeiro on July 28th, 1881, in 
accordance with the requirements of Brazilian law, Wetson transferred 
to Mackie four-fifths of the final mining grant about to be solicited 
from the Brazilian Government, as well as the exclusive administration 
of the same as is more fully set forth in the bbdy of that contract. 

(V.) 'Phe requirements of the prospecting license having been duly 
complied with, and the necessary maps, reports and specimens filed, 
Wetson and Mackie acquired by Imperial Decree No. 8,449 March 
iith, 1882, the exclusive right for 50 years to mine gold and other 
minerals upon 100 claims of 169^ acres each, to be selected from within 
the limits stated in the original prospecting license and also in the re¬ 
maining territory of the Comarca, or Judicial District, of the Rio das 
Mortes, subject to the presentation of further maps and other conditions 
as expressed in the Decree. 

(VI.) By Imperial Decree No. 9,747 of April 22nd. 1887. Wetson 
and Mackie obtained an extension of 2 years time for the presenta¬ 
tion of these final maps and definitive location of the 100 claims, as 
asked in their joint petition dated Rio de Janeiro, March loth. 1887. 

I'he following is the text of the Decree of Goncession as translated 
from the official “ Collection of the Laws of the Empire of Brazil for 
1882.” 

Decree No. 8,449, of iith March 1882. Grants permission to John 
Wetson and Charles Paul Mackie to mine gold and other minerals in 
the District of Rio des Mortes in the Province of Minas Geraes. 


24 


“/// attention to what has been asked of me by John Wetson and 
Charles Paul Mackie, 1 deem it well to grant them permission to mine 
gold and other minerals in the District of Rio das Mortes in the Prov¬ 
ince of Minas (ieraes, subject to the clauses which accompany this, 
signed by Manual Alves de Oranjo of My Council, jMinister and Sec¬ 
retary of State for the Affairs of Agriculture, Commerce and Public 
Works, who will promulgate and cause it to be executed accordingly. 

“ Palace of Rio de Janeiro, on the nth. of March, 1882, 6ist. [year] 
of Independence and of the Empire. 

“ With the signature of His Majesty the Emperor. 

(Signed) Manuel Alves de Oranjo. 

“Clauses 'jo which the Decree of this date refers; 

I 

“100 mineral claims, of 141.750 square bracas (686.070 square metres), 
are granted to John Wetson and Charles Paul Mackie in the Munici¬ 
pality of S. Joao d’El Rey, whose exploration was conceded by De¬ 
cree No. 7.379 of nth July, 1879 to the first of the said grantees, and 
also in the remaining territory of the District of Rio des Mortes, in the 
Province of Minas Geraes, in order to work deposits of gold and other 
minerals, and for the space of 50 years. 

II 

“ Within the space of 5 years, counted from this date, the grantees 
will have the said claims measured and their limits fixed, and will pre¬ 
sent the respective map to the President of the Province, who shall 
order its correctness to be verified by an engineer of his confidence; 
the expenses of the measurement and its verification to be for account 
of the grantees. 

III. 

“ The measurement and fixing of the limits of the lands granted, 
even after they are verified, will not give the right to the grantees to 
work the mine so long as they have not proved before the Government 
that they have effectively employed a capital corresponding to t 0.000 
milreis ($5,000) per mining claim. 

IV. 

“ The space of 5 years, counted from this date, being exhausted, if 
the grantees should not have employed the sum corresponding to 
10.000 milreis ($5,000) per mining claim, they shall lose the right to as 
many claims as maybe required to complete this sum in quantities equal 
to the above amount. 

V. 

“In accordance with the Decree No. 3,236 of 21st March, 1864, the 
amount of the following expenses shall be considered as effectively em- 
])loyed, and consequently included in the proportional sum of which 
clause III treats:— 

I St. d'hose of the examinations and preliminary works for the devel¬ 
opment of, or prospecting for the mines. 


25 


2d. Those of the cost of the operations of measuring and fixing the 
boundaries of the lands, organization of the corresponding map and its 
verification by the Government. 

3d. Those of the purchase of the lands in which the mining claims 
may lie. 

4th. Those of the acquisition, transportation and establishment of 
appliances and machinery intended for the work of mining. 

5th. Those of the transportation of engineers, employees and laborers. 
(It is understood that under this head there shall not be included the 
expenses arising from the daily trips, regular and continuous, from the 
mine to whatever settlement, or vice-versa^ which the above persons 
should make, once the buildings for their residence at the place of 
mining shall be completed.) 

6th. Those works carried out in consequence of the mining, and 
tending to facilitate the transportation of the products ; also the dwel- 
ings, storehouses, workshops and other buildings indispensable to the 
enterprise. 

7th. Those of the acquisition of animals, boats and carts, and of all 
other vehicles employed in the service of the mine and in the trans¬ 
portation of its products. 

8th. The cost of the works executed for the mine, or of any bona fide 
outlay made to realize its products ; it being understood that the cost 
of any plantations made by the grantees shall not be carried to the ac¬ 
count of capital. 


vr. 

“The proofs of the conditions established in the preceding clause 
shall be accepted bona fide ; but any artifice used to deceive the 
Government and its representatives shall cause the present concession 
to become null and void as soon as discovered, the grantees, or whoever 
represents them, losing all right to indemnizatiqn. 

VII. 

“The grantees are obliged 

I St. To present for the approval of the Government the map of the 
works of the mine which are to be carried out. I'his map must be ex¬ 
ecuted by a mining engineer, or by some one admittedly competent to 
undertake such work. 

It is understood that the grantees shall not be allowed to make ex¬ 
cavations, shafts or galleries for working the mineral of their conces¬ 
sion under private houses within a radius of 15 metres [50 feet] from 
them, nor under the public roads and highways and within 10 metres 
of their borders. 

2d, To appoint and maintain in the direction of the mining works a 
competent engineer or expert, whose nomination shall be confirmed by 
the Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Public Works. 

3d. To pay annually 5 reis [| of one cent] per square braca (4 m. 
84) of mineral land, in accordance with what is established by ^ 1, 
paragraph ist, of article 23, of the law No. i, 5 o 7 ) 26th of September, 
1867, and to pay each year to the National Treasury a sum correspond¬ 
ing to 2% of the net product of the mining. 


26 


4th. 'I'o subject themselves to such instructions and regulations as 
shall be established by the Mining Police. 

5th. To indemnify the damages caused by the mining laborers, which 
shall result from fault, or from the want of observance of the principles 
of .science and experience. 

This indemnity shall consist of the amount which shall be awarded 
by the experts of the Government, or of such works as shall be desig¬ 
nated as necessary to remove or remedy the harm done ; and in the 
obligation to provide for the maintenance of those persons who shall 
be incapacited from labor, and of the families of those who shall die in 
any of the cases above enumerated. 

6th. To give a proper course to the waters used for the purpose of 
the mine, or those which drain from the mines and galleries, so that 
they shall not stagnate, nor injure third persons. 

If the deviation of these waters will cause damage to third parties, 
the grantees must previously ask their consent. If this should be re¬ 
fused, they shall petition the President of the Province for the supply 
requisite under a bond made by the grantees, who shall be liable for 
any damages, losses or harm caused to the property of others. For 
the concession of such a supply the President of the Province shall 
order the proprietors to be intimated by public notices to present the 
reasons for their objection within a reasonable period, which he shall 
fix, and to petition for what they deem necessary in support of their 
rights. The President of the Province shall grant or refuse the sup¬ 
ply asked for, according to the reasons set forth by the proprietors, or, 
in case of their default, shall declare the motives of his decision, from 
which the parties interested may appeal to the Minister of Agriculture, 
Commerce and Public Works. 'Phis appeal shall only be so received, 
however, as not to suspend the effect of the President’s action until the 
appeal is finally decided. 

'I'he supply asked for having been granted, the apprasement men¬ 
tioned in Clause VII., or that of the indemnization for damages alleged 
by the proprietors, shall immediately be proceeded with, by means of 
arbitrators who shall be named two by the grantees and two by the 
proprietors. If there be a tie it shall be resolved by a fifth arbitrator 
named by the President of the Province. If the lands belong to the 
State the fifth arbitrator shall be named by the Judge of the District. 
The decision having been made, the grantees shall be obliged, within 
the space of eight days, either to furnish a guarantee or make payment 
of the amount in which the indemnity was fixed, without which the 
license desired shall not be furnished them. 

7th. To send semi-annually to the Imperial Government, through 
the medium of the Government engineer and of the President of the 
Province, a detailed report of the works in progress or those already 
concluded, and of the results obtained from the mining. 

In addition to these reports they shall be obliged to furnish what¬ 
ever explanations should be required by the Government or its dele¬ 
gates. 

The neglect in what is established in paragraphs ist and 2d of this 
present clause shall be punished with a reduction of the period of the 
concession for one, two or three years, at the choice of the Govern¬ 
ment, and the payment of the amount which shall be owed, and with 


27 


the payment of double the amount owed, and with the cancellation of 
the concession itself in case of a repetition; which latter (penalty) 
shall also be applicable in case of neglect of what is declared in para¬ 
graphs 3d and 4th. 

In other cases the Government may levy a fine of from 200 to 2,000 
milreis ($100 to $1,000.) 

8th. To remit to the (Government samples of gold or other minerals 
from each deposit that shall be discovered, and also of the different 
varieties found in each deposit, and whatever fossils should be discov¬ 
ered in the operations. 


VIII. 

“ The Government shall, whenever it finds convenient, send and ex¬ 
amine the mining operations of this concession, and inspect the man¬ 
ner in which it clauses are complied with. The grantees shall be 
obliged to give the officers selected for this purpose the (requisite) in¬ 
formation in the discharge of their mission; and also allow them free 
entry into all their establishments and places of work. 

IX. 

“ The grantees may not divide the mining claims granted them with¬ 
out the consent of the Government, and upon their death their repre- 
.sentatives shall be obliged to scrupulously observe this cause upon 
penalty of loss of the concession. 


X. 


“ This concession shall lapse; 

ist. Failing to begin the preliminary work of the mining within the 
space of five (5) years, counted from this date. 

2d. By abandonment of the mining. 

3d. Failing to work at the mining for more than 30 days, except in 
a case of vis majo 7 ' properly established. 

In this last event the suspension of operations may not exceed 
the period fixed by the (Government for the removal of the causes 
alleged. 

4th. In case of a repetition of a fault for which a pecuniary fine had 
been imposed. 

XI. 

“ The disregard of any of the clauses for which no special penalty 
has been fixed shall be punished with a fine of from 200 to 2,000 mil¬ 
reis ($100 to $1,000.) 


XII. 

“ The grantees may transfer this concession only by legitimate sue- 


cession, by will, or for enforced payment to creditors, the consent of 
the (iovernment having been previously obtained, however, which shall 
be refused if the new grantees shall not possess the necessary means 
for carrying on the mining. 

XIII. 

“ If, however, the grantees shall organize a company out of the Pmi- 
piVe which shall be ipse facto^ subrogated in all the rights which per¬ 
tain to them, this company shall be obliged to maintain in Brazil a 
person authorized to represent it actively and passively before the 
courts or otherwise; it being established that whatever questions 
which arise between it and the (lOvernment shall be settled in Brazil 
by arbitrators, and those which arise between it and private individuals 
shall be discussed and finally settled in the courts of the Empire, and 
in accordance with the legislation thereof. 

XIV. 

“ I'he decision by arbitration shall be rendered by a Judge, if the 
])arties agree upon the same individual; in the contrary case, however, 
each one shall nominate an arbitrator, and the third, whose vote shall 
be decisive, shall be selected by agreement between the two parties. 
If these latter cannot agree, the (jovernment shall present one, and 
the grantees another, name of some person admittedly competent, and 
the choice shall be made by lot. 

“ Palace of Rio de Janeiro, nth March, 1882. 

(vSigned) Manuel Alves de Oranjo.” 

As will be seen from the terms of the concession, the Brazilian (tov- 
ernment proceeds upon the assumption that its grantees will act in good 
faith, and on this understanding accept their representations without 
discussion. The policy of the Government being to encourage the de¬ 
velopment of the mineral resources of the Empire, it leans to the side 
of lijjerality in its construction of the concessions granted when it be¬ 
lieves that their holders intend to carry them out fairly, d’his spirit 
is, indeed, shown by the two extensions granted upon the Rio das 
Mortes concession, in 1881 and 1887. Another evidence is the passage 
of an Act by the Senate at the last session of Parliament abolishing the 
tax stipulated in Clause VII, although the amount is not excessive 
when compared with the privileges granted. 

Some of the provisions which appear vexatious are absolete formali¬ 
ties never heard of in the operations of existing active companies. 
Others still are neutralized by the establishment of a Board of Arbitra¬ 
tion. Finally, those which in the course of operations could reason¬ 
ably be objected to, it is in the power of the Minister to suspend or 
cancel upon proper representation being made. 

I’he capital fixed for holding the whole 100 claims is certainly not 
excessive at $5,000 apiece, when it is considered that each claim is 169^ 
acres of selected mineral land, and that if a lesser number of claims is 
located the capital account is proportionately reduced, while in making 
up this account every legitimate expense may be included, from the 


21 ) 


date of the original Decree in 1879. The grantees consider themselves 
already entitled to locate at least 20 claims under the terms of the con¬ 
cession, in virtue of outlays made and work done as set forth in their 
petition of March, 1887, to the Brazilian (iovernment asking for the 
extension subsequently granted. 

Such fair and reasonable alterations of the minor provisions of the 
concession as convenience may require, and which are not in conflict 
with its spirit, may be incorporated in the Articles of Association or 
other document registered with the Brazilian Government in compliance 
with Clause XIII, and will be considered as modifying the concession 
unless specifically rejected by the Government. Such rejections are 
extremely rare. 

Idle Brazilian Parliament has under consideration an act regulating 
the location and administration of the mineral lands of the Empire, 
based upon the modern theory of small holdings, and one of its pro¬ 
visions will sweep away all of the present system of large grants which 
have not complied with their stipulated obligations. Very few of the 
concessions granted in the past will be able to maintain their existence 
after the passage of the new law, and none of them will have the ad¬ 
vantage enjoyed by that for the Rio das Mortes District of having 
been ratified and extended in all its broad scope during the very 
period when the new and restricted law was under discussion. 

CHAS. PAUL MACKIE. 


NEW YORK, 

September, 1887. 


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Postscript. 


Since this pamphlet went to press, the text of the Decree of Oct. 
2ist, 1887 has been received, by which the Brazilian Government re¬ 
duces all future concessions to a single claim of 1,000 sqicare metres 
(say 1,196 sq. yards), and directs the Presidents of the various Provinces 
of the Empire to furnish to the respective Ministry lists of all the con¬ 
cessions heretofore made, the conditions of which have not been exactly 
complied with. 

'Phe effect of this measure will be to cancel all but a few of the 

» 

many grants given under the old system, those only remaining valid 
which, like the Rio das Mortes concession, have satisfied their obliga¬ 
tions, and limit all future grants to the single small claim above stated. 





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i(if!KfifHi7^i* actbxjiiftlf idi WtllJr* (ji^Ivtiybon . 


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